Today as I got up, I noticed it was a juxtaposed morning. The skies had opened up, unleashing an unseasonal shower and the booming thunder was nothing like what I’d heard before. Then I realised the heavens were weeping to mourn the demise of perhaps the noblest man I’ve ever come across in my life, and amidst the tears, the uncannily rhythmic thunder was celebrating the arrival of a pure soul behind the pearly gates.
What I write today isn’t an account of his achievements, academic or otherwise, or his erudition or even his wisdom; it’s a small peek into his personality that made him a giant among puny humans like us. A man who was looked upon as meek and submissive but who was actually a man of grace and steely integrity.
It’s funny how journalists and newspapers that lampooned him 365 days a year are today writing paeans to him. The front page of every newspaper (and I’ve seen 20 of them) talks of his stature, his role in taking the country forward and his economic acumen that brought our nation back from the brink of financial collapse. I guess there’s redemption in death, as the good doctor had himself predicted of how he’d be judged more kindly in times to come.
I had the good fortune of being with him in person on 5 occasions: once in the PMO, thrice in his residence and once while he was visiting one of our facilities. I kid you not, I’ve never in my life seen a bigger study in humility and grace, and I don’t think I ever will. Absolutely no airs despite holding the most powerful office for 10 straight years. He was a man who was approachable, could be spoken to without the fear of rebuke and was the easiest politician to deal with (probably because he wasn’t one in the first place).
I’d like to share a few instances of Dr. Manmohan Singh being immensely grounded, humble, and of unimpeachable integrity. The first was when he was contesting the LS polls from the South Delhi constituency against VK Malhotra, which he unfortunately lost. Party workers campaigning for him approached him for funds to print posters and, to their surprise and chagrin, were told he had already given them all the money he had and was left with nothing. Can you even imagine a politician saying that in the middle of an election?
Another episode was when his elder brother informed him that he’ll be arriving by the Amritsar Shatabdi on so-and-so date and could he get him picked from the station? In his packed-to-the-gills schedule, it slipped Dr. Singh’s mind and his brother took a cab after waiting for a bit. When he arrived at the PM’s residence on Racecourse Road, the SPG wouldn’t let him in as per strict protocol. He kept pleading that he was the PM’s brother and could they at least inform him. Ten minutes later, the Prime Minister of India ran out, apologised fervently, and, despite the SPG telling him not to, picked up his brother’s bag himself and escorted him in.
In another instance, on his first official visit to the US, he asked one of his aides if they could organise a few hundred dollars, as Mrs. Singh was accompanying him and she might need some money if she wanted to pick up some knickknacks. The aide was a bit flummoxed and told him, Sir, please don’t worry; it’ll be taken care of.
Honestly, I have hundreds of episodes about the most highly qualified head of state the world has seen yet, anecdotes that I’ve come across during tête-à-têtes with journalists, bureaucrats, and politicians, but I’ll narrate just one more and end this post. His daughter was to be awarded a fellowship along with others and upon his arrival at the venue, the first thing he told the organisers was that he was there in the capacity of a father and not as the prime minister, and no special arrangements should be made for him. He sat alongside other parents and applauded the achievement of his distinguished daughter as a proud father.
His list of accolades could be made into a book but among a notable few were The Independent, describing him as “one of the world’s most revered leaders” and “a man of uncommon decency and grace,” noting that he drives a Maruti 800, one of the humblest cars in India. In his book Absolute Khushwant: The Low-Down on Life, Death, and Most Things In between, the writer narrates an incident where, after losing the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Dr. Singh immediately returned the Rs. 2 lakh he had borrowed from the writer for hiring taxis. Terming him as the best example of integrity, Khushwant Singh stated, “When people talk of integrity, I say the best example is the man who occupies the country’s highest office.”
In 2010, Newsweek recognised him as a world leader who is hugely respected by other heads of state, describing him as “the leader other leaders love.” The article quoted Mohamed ElBaradei, who remarked that Singh is “the model of what a political leader should be.” Dr. Singh also received the World Statesman Award in 2010, and Henry Kissinger described him as “a statesman with vision, persistence, and integrity” and praised him for his “leadership, which has been instrumental in the economic transformation underway in India.”
Forbes magazine described Dr. Singh as being “universally praised as India’s best prime minister since Nehru.” Noted Aussie journalist Greg Sheridan praised him “as one of the greatest statesmen in Asian history.” Time magazine described him as “guiding India into the ranks of the great powers,” and in his 2020 memoir, A Promised Land, Barack Obama called Dr. Singh “wise, thoughtful, and scrupulously honest.”.
I have always maintained that the good doctor would’ve died relatively unsung had it not been for the visionary called PV Narasimha Rao. Dr. Singh told Mark Tully in an interview in 2005, “On the day (Rao) was formulating his cabinet, he sent his principal secretary to me saying, “The PM would like you to become the Minister of Finance.'” I didn’t take it seriously. He eventually tracked me down the next morning, rather angry, and demanded that I get dressed up and come to Rashtrapati Bhavan for the swearing in. So that’s how I started in politics.” What he didn’t tell Tully was that he told Rao that if he wanted him to sort out the mess the Indian economy was in, he’d have to give him a free hand with minimal or no interference. To that, Rao said, Not only that, success is yours and failure is mine. And the rest, as they say, is history.
To you, our most affable leader and human nonpareil, Dr. Manmohan Singh, I say thank you for being the man you were. Our nation and the world would be a million times better places if we had more people of unflinching integrity, grace, and humility like you, people who walk the talk with fortitude and a steely resolve but remain empathetic and compassionate towards all of humanity. A nation remembers you with love, respect, and immense gratitude.
